The invention relates to an engagement lock for a container having a pair of locking rings or locking eyelets, said engagement lock comprising first and second members adapted for snap-fit interlocking after the first member has been introduced into a cavity provided in the second member.
An engagement lock of the type indicated above is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,337.
The elongated body of such a prior art lock is a cable or wire which is too flexible, and consequently, this flexible member will yield and be bent if e.g. the stroke of a hammer is used in order to try to insert and interlock it with the other member. Moreover, the individual strands of the wire will be untwisted or loosened during such an attempt of interlocking.
An engagement lock is also disclosed in the Danish patent 134 811 corresponding to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,742. In this lock the rod-shaped body is a rigid solid rod of metal, and the resistance to its introduction into the cavity during the interlocking can e.g. be overcome in the above mentioned manner by the stroke from a hammer. This lock is opened by cutting the rod-shaped body by means of a strong pair of scissors or shears.
Moreover, an engagement lock is known from the European patent EP 0 044 305 B1 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,889, from which the present invention is a further development. Reference is made to the above patents and the above US patents are hereby incorporated in the present specification by reference.
It has turned out to be possible for an unauthorized, person to open the engagement lock by drilling until the rod-shaped body breaks since the cavity is not strong enough to withstand it.
According to the authorized, opening of the engagement lock known in the art, the engagement lock is opened by cutting the rod-shaped body by means of a strong pair of scissors or shears, e.g., by cutting in one of the annular grooves which are intentional lines of weakness.
A thief or a person having fraudulent thoughts, e.g., of transporting non legal goods in a container will not use the authorized opening referred to above, since this person does not want the opening and the subsequent closing of the container and the opening and the subsequent closing of the engagement lock to be revealed later on during inspection of the engagement lock. A thief or a fraudulent person attempting to transport non legal goods, e.g., drugs, etc in the container will attempt to break the engagement lock and store his “goods” in the container prior to—if at all possible—locking the container again. This person does not want addition or replacement of goods to be revealed later on by inspecting the engagement lock, e.g. by visible crack or other hammering or drilling traces.
It is, of course, possible to open the container lock by cutting the rod-shaped body by means of e.g. a strong pair of scissors and/or shears but this will be visible from the outside the container, e.g. visible for customs officers or other persons handling the container.